In praise of ... Joaquim Chissano

Shortly after Joaquim Chissano became president of Mozambique, this paper suggested that he faced "a combination of problems to tax the ingenuity of the most brilliant of leaders". That was true and though Mr Chissano may now be more feted abroad than at home, where some remember whispers of corruption and his initial eight years as the leader of a one-party Marxist state, his record unquestionably stands as a rebuke to those who assume that the story of African states is always one of decline.

In 1986, when he stepped into the shoes of Samora Machel, after Mozambique's first leader was killed in a mysterious plane crash, his country was in economic collapse, its people tormented by a violent South African-backed insurgency. When he left office, voluntarily, 19 years later, after winning two free elections and deciding not to stand in a third, Mozambique was stable, a democracy slowly climbing out of poverty.

That in itself justifies yesterday's decision to award Mr Chissano a $5m prize for good governance. There is something quixotic about the whole competition, established and funded by the Sudanese businessman Mo Ibrahim in order to offer Africa's best leaders a comfortable retirement, in the hope that it will lure them away from sustained rule and corruption. Could money really have persuaded Robert Mugabe to quit with dignity after a decade? Probably not, but Mr Chissano did leave, and did much good before that. He deserves his unusual prize.